Orient Thai and their unit One Two Go have announced their intention to order the following from Boeing

12 x 737-900ER

8 x 787-9

Orient Thai Airlines and its budget unit One-Two-Go Airlines plan to undergo a major fleet revamp, replacing its ageing aircraft with a new generation of jetliners expected to cost a total of US$2.5 billion. The airline group hopes to acquire 20 brand-new jetliners, including eight Boeing 787-9s and 12 Boeing 737-900s, for delivery starting in the next four years.

The ambitious plan, announced yesterday by founder and chief executive Udom Tantiprasongchai, represents a bold change in the airline group's hardware.

[snip]

Mr Udom said the group was negotiating the plane purchase with the US plane maker Boeing and hoped to place an order for the jets in April next year.

Orient Thai, now serving flights from Bangkok to Hong Kong and Seoul's Incheon airport, would fly farther from the Thai capital to main air hubs in Europe and Scandinavia.

The group has yet to determine the best option for acquiring the new aircraft. It may lease them or purchase them with US Exim Bank loans, according to Mr Udom. It plans to raise additional equity within the company to secure funding for the fleet revamp.

Delivery over next four years and a final decision expected by April of next year. Source is the airline and there appears to be some work to do. But it'd be a good order all the same. One cannot rule out the possibility of leasing the 787s given slot availability and the desired delivery timeframe.

This is not an order I would have ever expected. Has this gone any further than LOI? Furthermore, for Orient Thai at least- isn't the 787-9 a fairly drastic capacity downgrade? I suppose the CASM of a 787-9 is a lot more desirable than that of a 747 classic on the missions they want to use them. If they are in negotiations with a leasing firm for 787s to be delivered over the next four years, they seem likely to beat TG to the next-gen widebody arena.

Quoting Powercube (Reply 1):This is not an order I would have ever expected. Has this gone any further than LOI? Furthermore, for Orient Thai at least- isn't the 787-9 a fairly drastic capacity downgrade?

Yes also very surprising too me and would be a big step forward for them.

Even more surprising is that they want to fly to Europe. I would rather say that the big future tourist markets for Thailand are in Northeast Asia, India and the Middle East.

Also the question comes up what their service level is going to be in the future? No frills budget longhaul or are they thinking of increasing their service level? If yes, then TG would have to finally get their act together...and don't forget about PG going longhaul too...

"No more window seats in business class, sir!" "Any in economy? Yes? Then downgrade me!"

Quoting SQA350:Also the question comes up what their service level is going to be in the future? No frills budget longhaul or are they thinking of increasing their service level? If yes, then TG would have to finally get their act together...and don't forget about PG going longhaul too...

I think, no matter what the case is- TG has to get their act together. Regardless, I can't see Orient-Thai becoming a full-service carrier for a good long time. Assuming the 787-9 order comes to fruition expect them to by 9Y charter fare. Not so bad, I guess because the CASM of the 787-9 would allow them to be able to offer very nice prices to HKT and other resort destinations in Thailand. They may even be able to compete with the likes of UN or AY. What concerns me more are their current safety allegations.

Not at this stage, it appears a selection process has seen Boeing come out over Airbus and they have entered into final talks with Boeing. Again, 787 delivery from 2011 indicates leasing maybe involved.

Mr Udom has since been contacted by Reuters and Bloomberg and repeats much of what has been said in the initial report. Some further links.

It would be interesting to know what the trip costs for the 739ER are vs. the 738. One reason for the 738 enjoying such strong sales is that it's trip costs are very close to the 73G for many carriers, which means the 738 gives them "free seats" to sell and raise RASM. And the range puts all of SE Asia, Oceania, and the Indian subcontinent in range, even without the auxiliary tanks and running closer to MZFW.